Hove and Portslade Labour meeting cancelled amidst antisemitism row
Ralli Hall, where the meeting was to take place.
A candidate for Labour Party Treasurer in Hove and Portslade has today denied accusations of anti-Semitism after the Hove AGM was cancelled.
The meeting, which was scheduled for Saturday, was cancelled last minute by the Ralli Memorial Hall venue, a Jewish Community centre, after potentially antisemitic Twitter posts by Momentum candidate Becky Massey were brought to light.
Commenting on the decision to cancel the meeting, Mrs Massey said “I am not a racist. I do campaign for justice for the Palestinian people and oppose continuing violations of international law by the state of Israel. This is legitimate activity and not antisemitic.
“As a supporter of Jeremy Corbyn I have been targeted in a horrible way by people whose aim is to derail the democratic process in Hove Constituency Labour Party.”
The controversial tweets were highlighted in an article by Campaign Against Antisemetism which was shared by anti-momentum Labour members (Source: Campaign Against Antisemitism)
In the two other constituency meetings, Brighton Pavillion and Brighton Kemptown, candidates put up by Momentum, the pro-Corbyn pressure group, swept the board.
In Kemptown, Miriam Binder was elected to chair the constituency, Councillor Lloyd Russel-Moyle was elected secretary, and Colin Piper was treasurer. Vice chairmen were Libby Barnes and Christine Robinson, with Lewis Dodgson, Sarah Haddow, Poppy Burt, Aaron Locke and Renato Marquez also elected.
Brighton Pavilion elected Jon Rodgers as chairman Claire Wadey as secretary and Amanda Evans as treasurer. Vice chairmen were Phil Rodgers and James Thompson. Also elected were Tim Wilkinson, Anne Thompson, Ian McIsaac, Theresa Fowler and Denise Friend.
Speaking about the cancellation in Hove, Councillor Lloyd Russel-Moyle (recently elected secretary of Brighton Kemptown) said “It’s disappointing that these things happen.
“As long as Hove has it [the rescheduled meeting] quickly then i’m sure it will all be a storm in a teacup that no-one will even remember”, he added, stating that venues often drop out for logistical reasons.
Community Security Trust, a charity which protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats, who were involved in the meeting’s cancellation at Ralli Hall, declined to comment.
